Ore-treating process.



No. 726,802. PATENTED APR.28,1 903.7

B. T. NICHOLS.

ORE TREATING PROCESS. APRLIUATION FILED 00T.10, 1902.

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No. 726,802. PATENTED APR.28',1903., B. T. NICHOLS.

ORB TREATING PROCESS. APPLIGATION' FILED 001210; 1902.

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m: nonms PEYERS 0o. monxumofl WASHINGTON n c No. 726,802. PATENTED APR.28, 1903. B. T. NICHOLS. ORE TREATING PROCESS.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, 1902.

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No. 726,802. PATENTED APR. 2a, 1903. B. T. NICHOLS.

ORE TREATING PROGESS.

APPLICATION FILED 0O'1.10, 1902.

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UNITE STATES PATE T OFFICE.

BELLA THOMAS NICHOLS, or MONTEVISTA, COLORADO.

ORE-TREATING PROCESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 0. 726,802, dated April 28,1903.

Application filed October 10,1902. Serial No. 126,689. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Beitknown that LBELLATHOMAS NIoHoLs, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica,residing at Montevista, in the county of Rio Grande and State ofColorado, have invented certain new and useful lm provements in OreTreating Processes; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact descrip tion of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improved method or process of treating orepreparatory to leaching or dissolving its metallic valuesfby any of thewell-known processes.

My improved process, briefly stated, consists of the following steps:The ore after being suitably pulverized is mixed with lime. Water isthen applied in sufficient quantity to form a pulp of moderateconsistency. This pulp is then agitated by the introduction of steam andmaintained at a suitable temperature, preferably 90 Fahrenheit,approximately,for a suitable period,preferably about twenty hours. Morewater is then applied and agitation continued, preferably by theintroduction of air, until the ore is thoroughly washed. The pulp isthen deprived of its liquid as far as may be made by draining, theair-pressure being preferably applied to facilitate the drainingoperation, and finally the ore is subjected to drying, whereby it isdeprived of its remaining moisture and acid impurities.

In the carrying out or practicing of my improved process a number ofmechanical elements are required. In the accompanying drawings suitablemechanism for accomplishing this result is illustrated. It must beunderstood, however, that in the practice of the invention I am notlimited to the use of any special mechanical appliances.

In the drawings, Figure 1- is a top or plan view of the apparatus, thedrier being partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4. is anenlarged sectional view of a portion of the mechanism. shown in Fig. 3.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the views.

Let the numeral 5 designate a crusher in which the ore is suitablypulverized or reduced to the desired fineness for the purpose. Locatedbelow the crusher is a bin 6, into which the ore as it leaves thecrusher passes and in which it is mixed with the necessary lime. Fromthis bin the ore and lime pass to a feeder 7 thence to an elevator 8,bywhich it is carried upwardly and delivered upon an endless conveyer 9,which carries it in the direction indicated by the arrow to the tanks10, the latter being trunnioned below their centers, as shown at 12, tofacilitate dumping. The necessary water is carried to the tanks by aconduit 13, with which is connected a flexible part 14. for dischargingthe water into each individual tank. The steam or air, as may berequired, is carried to the tanks from a conduit 15, and withwhich isconnected a pipe 16, attached to each tank by a flexible part 17, whichmay be detached whenever it is necessary to dump the tank. The steam isdelivered to the conduit 15 from a pipe 18, while the air is deliveredto the same conduit from a pipe 19.- The pipes 18 and 19 are providedwith valves 20 and2l, whereby they may be opened and closed at pleasure.Below and at one side of each tank is located a bin 22, into which oremay be dumped from the tank and from which it may be fed by way of achute 23 to a carrier 24, by which it is delivered to a rotary drier 25,whence it is discharged by Way of a chute 26 to an elevator 27, whichdelivers it at any desired point preparatory to treatment or leaching.

V In practicing myimprovedprocess the lime and ore are mixedtogetherprevious to their discharge into the tanks 10, after which the necessarywater is supplied from the pipe 13. Steam is then introduced, beingdischarged into the tank by the pipe 16, whereby the pulp is kept ataitemperature of 90 Fahrenheit, approximately. This feature ofmaintaining the ore during the agitating operation at the saidtemperature, or thereabout, is necessary in order to remove theimpurities from the ore under treatment. The object of the agitation isto bring the solution containing lime into intimate contact with the oreparticles, whereby the impurities which retard leaching may be removed;but this cannot be effectively accomplished without maintaining the oreat the proper temperature, which, as before stated, is accomplished bythe introduction of steam, the latter performing both the agitating andheating function. said, the acids and other impurities which retardleaching are freed from the ore, but in order to finally remove orseparate them therefrom the ore must be subjected to a washingoperation. This is done by the introduction of more water, making thepulp comparatively thin, after which the pulp is subjected to furtheragitation by theintroduction of air. The liquid is then drawn oif fromeach tank by opening avalve 30 in its bottom. The opening in the bottomof the tank is covered by a screen 31 to prevent the escape of the orewith theliquid. In order to facilitate the drawing off of the liquid,the pulp is subjected to the action of air introduced under increasedpressure as compared with the pressure employed during the washingoperation. In order to further and fully remove the dissolvedimpurities, the ore is subjected to a drying operation, sufficient heatbeing provided for the purpose. This drying operation is accomplishedwhile the ore is traveling through the rotary conveyer illustrated inthe drawings, the heat preferably moving in the opposite direction tothe traveling ore and maintained at about 90 Fahrenheit, whereby themoisture and volatile gases whichretard leaching are removed. Thisdrying step is very important and absolutely essential in order toobtain the best results.

Attention is called to the fact that the material to be treated isremoved from the conveyer 9 by means of hinged arms 35, which are thrownout in succession to the position shown above the tank 10 farthest tothe right in Fig. 1. After filling the first tank the arm 35 adjacentthe tank is returned to the dotted-line position, and the next arm 35 atthe During the agitation, as afore-- or substance, which substance isdissolved and other impurities removed by the lime solution at atemperature of 90 approximately.

As regards the specific ore employed I have been unable to obtain asatisfactory analysis from different chemists to whom I have submittedit. One chemist called it a combination of bismuth and zinc. Others haveanswered, metal unknown. This is the best explanation I can give withreference to the treatment of a specific ore by my improved process.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is- 1. Theherein-described process for treating ore preparatory to leaching,consisting first in mixing the suitably-pulverized ore with lime;second, applying water to the mixture and introducing steam whereby thepulp is agitated and kept at a suitable temperature until certainimpurities which retard leaching are freed; third, washing the pulp bythe introduction of Water and continued agitation; fourth, draining offthe water as far as practicable, and finally drying the ore,substantially as described.

2. The herein-described ore-treating process, consisting in mixingsuitably-pulverized ore with lime and supplying water to form a pulp ofsuitable consistency; agitating the pulp by the introduction of steam;washing the pulp by a further supply of Water and continued agitation;drawing off the Water; and finally drying the ore, substantially asdescribed.

3. The herein-described process of treating ore preparatory to leaching,consisting in mixing the suitably-pulverized ore with lime, andsupplying water to form a pulp of suitable consistency; agitating thepulp by the introduction of steam whereby it is maintained at atemperature of 90 Fahrenheit approximately; washing the ore by theintroduction of water and further agitation by the introduction of airunder pressure; draining the liquid from the ore and introducing airunder increased pressure to facilitate the draining operation; andfinally drying the ore, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

BELLA THOMAS NICHOLS.

Witnesses:

PERKINS B. BAss, A. V. OLIVER.

